U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo waves to the media before his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at the State Department in Washington, U.S., August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed recent U.S. sanctions against Moscow and challenges in Syria’s war in a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Friday, a State Department spokeswoman said.

“Secretary Pompeo reiterated that the United States seeks an improved relationship with Russia and agreed to future dialogue,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

It was their first phone call since Washington said on Wednesday it would impose fresh sanctions on Moscow for the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain in March.